House Foreign Affairs Committee Leaders Co-Sponsor Bi-Partisan N.K. Human Rights Bill
[Updated and bumped 4/22: The GPO has published the full text; it’s here: hr-5834.pdf
It mainly reauthorizes the existing Act, tightens State’s reporting requirements, and adds more power and prestige to the post of Special Envoy. It also demands quick action from State on increasing radio broadcasting and “facilitating the submission of applications” for asylum at our consular facilities in Asia.]
I don’t have a link to the bill or this press release yet, but it’s from a reliable source, verbatim and in full. Thanks to a reader for sending. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, bless her, has been a stalwart on this issue. And if Howard Berman really ignores the State Department and supports this, I’ll say that Tom Lantos‘s shoes have been more than filled.
Ros-Lehtinen Introduces North Korea Human Rights Act
Legislation co-authored with Chairman Berman may see vote in late April
(WASHINGTON) ““ U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today introduced a bill to improve resettlement policies for victims of the communist regime in North Korea and expand democracy promotion programs.
Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that she expected the North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act to be approved by the committee later this month. Ros-Lehtinen co-authored the legislation with committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA).
“North Koreans struggle to survive in deplorable conditions perpetuated by a brutal regime. Human rights violations are common and the appalling humanitarian conditions have compelled many people to flee the country just to survive,” said Ros-Lehtinen.
According to Ros-Lehtinen, “the combination of an intensified crackdown by China, which forcibly returns refugees, and recent public executions of border-crossers inside North Korea, have made the situation of North Korean refugees even more precarious.
“Despite the intent of Congress in 2004 when it enacted the first North Korean Human Rights Act, only 43 refugees have been admitted to the United States, out of more than 6,000 who have been resettled during that time,” Ros-Lehtinen explained.
The bill:
– includes findings urging the U.S. Department of State to improve its screening, processing, and resettlement of North Korean refugees;
– requires the appointment of a full-time envoy to work on North Korean human rights issues;
– requires a report from the Broadcasting Board of Governors on efforts to expand U.S. broadcasts to North Korea; and
– increases to $4 million U.S. funding for the human rights and democracy programs.
“The United States has the largest refugee program in the world by far. The Korean community in the United States, which numbers nearly 2 million, is the largest outside northeast Asia, and shares many family ties to North Korea. The United States welcomes tens of thousands of refugees fleeing repression every year, and Congress must ensure that North Korean victims also have a reasonable opportunity to pursue their dreams of living in freedom,” said Ros-Lehtinen.
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[Correction on the title: It’s the House Foreign Relations Affairs Committee.]